ASSEMBLY, No. 967

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblymen ASSELTA and CORODEMUS

An Act concerning change of name filing fees and notification of certain name changes, amending and supplementing Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. (New section) Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule or regulation to the contrary, a person who is incarcerated in a correctional facility shall not be eligible for a waiver of the fee for filing a change of name.

    2. N.J.S.2A:52-2 is amended to read as follows:

    2A:52-2. a. Such person, from and after the day specified therefor in the judgment in the action, shall be known by the name which, by the judgment, he is authorized to assume, and by no other. The judgment for change of name shall include the applicant's social security number and date of birth. The clerk of the court shall forward a copy of the judgment to the State Bureau of Identification in the Division of State Police if the person has been convicted of a crime or if there are criminal charges pending against him.

    b. The State Bureau of Identification shall notify a victim or parent or legal guardian of a victim, as the case may be, of one or more of the following crimes when the perpetrator of the crime changes his name: N.J.S.2C:11-3; N.J.S.2C:11-4; N.J.S.2C:12-1b; N.J.S.2C:13-1; N.J.S.2C:14-2; N.J.S.2C:14-3; N.J.S.2C:15-1; section 1 of P.L.1993, c.221 (C.2C:15-2); N.J.S.2C:18-2; N.J.S.2C:29-5; any crime involving a sexual offense or child molestation as set forth in N.J.S.2C:14-1 et seq.; and, any crime endangering the welfare of children or incompetents which concerns sexual conduct which would impair or debauch the morals of the child, as set forth in N.J.S.2C:24-4.

    c. The Superintendent of State Police shall promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this section pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).

(cf: P.L.1993, c.228, s.2)

    3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill would prevent inmates in correctional facilities from changing their names at public expense. Currently, persons may apply to the court for indigency status, which if granted allows them to file court documents without paying filing fees. This procedure is available for all persons, including prisoners. This bill would prohibit prisoners from claiming indigency in order to obtain a waiver of fees for name change requests. Prisoners who wish to change their name will have to do so at their own expense, rather than at the taxpayers'.

    This bill also provides for notification to the victim or a victim's parent or legal guardian, as the case may be, if the perpetrator of certain serious crimes has changed his name. The specific crimes are: murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault, kidnapping, sexual assault, criminal sexual contact, robbery, carjacking, burglary, escape, a crime involving a sexual offense or child molestation, and any crime endangering the welfare of children concerning sexual conduct which would impair or debauch the morals of the child. The bill directs the Superintendent of State Police in the Department of Law and Public Safety to establish procedures for carrying out its provisions.

Prohibits fee waiver for inmate name change; provides for victim notification of change.